OPEN AIR

Commissioned by the Association for Public Art, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s OPEN AIR was a world-premiere interactive light installation for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that ran nightly from September 20 – October 14, 2012. The piece transformed Philadelphia’s night sky with 24 powerful robotic searchlights that were directed by participants’ voices and GPS locations. Inspired by the city’s rich tradition of democracy and respect for free speech, OPEN AIR was created specifically for Philadelphia and for participation by the general public.

Using a free mobile app developed by Lozano-Hemmer’s studio, participants were invited to record and submit messages of up to 30 seconds in length – shout-outs, poems, songs, rants, dedications, proposals. In response, 24 searchlights stationed strategically along a half-mile section of the Parkway created unique, dynamic light formations in the sky. The lights reacted in brightness and position to the GPS locations of participants and the frequency and amplitude of their voice recording, which could be heard through the app, the project website, and public speakers located at the Project Information Center and Information Outpost along the Parkway.

Priority was given to those submitting messages from the Parkway, but for those not onsite, the project website, www.openairphilly.net, allowed users to record messages that were archived and played back by the lights if other web visitors rated them highly. All participants had a personalized webpage created automatically with their message, comments, and images of the light sculptures that their voice created. Each evening, invited community groups were the first voices and opened the night with their featured messages.